Because the Minnesota Golden Gophers advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four on Sunday?

“That’s secondary,” Johnson said.

The Minnesota native and former Golden Gopher will return to the lineup tonight in what is considered a must-win game against the San Jose Sharks. Johnson has missed the past two games with a back injury, during which the Avs only collected one point out of a possible four.

“It was definitely hard being out, but with an injury like a back you have to make sure you’re ready to go,” Johnson said. ” I didn’t want to take two steps forward and one step back. It was an injury that really wasn’t fun to have, especially this time of year — it was really bad timing — but I owe a lot to the trainers for helping me get back a lot quicker than I probably should have been.”

Johnson will replace rookie Tyson Barrie. No other changes to the lineup will be made, coach Joe Sacco said.

Tenth-place Colorado and No. 9 San Jose are tied for 86 points, along with No. 8 Los Angeles, but the Sharks and Kings have two games in hand. After tonight, the Avs have just four remaining games, with none against teams in front of them, so tonight’s contest against the Sharks “is huge,” Avs defenseman Shane O’Brien said.

The top eight teams in the Western Conference will advance to the playoffs.

“It’s definitely a must-win situation,” O’Brien said.

Two players from the five-man trade between the Avs and Sharks on Feb. 27 will be playing tonight. Avs winger Jamie McGinn has flourished in Colorado, producing nine of his 20 goals, and Sharks forward Daniel Winnik has scored his only two goals with San Jose over the past two games.

Former Avs forward TJ Galiardi is unavailable for San Jose because of a back injury.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyreek Hill didn’t know what to do when he started hearing thousands of people in Arrowhead Stadium chanting his name, even as he stood all alone on the frozen turf waiting for the punt.